


Green Paint

by psychoticturtle



Category: Septiplier - Fandom, jacksepticeye, markiplier - Fandom
Genre: M/M, Markiplier - Freeform, Septiplier - Freeform, YouTube, jacksepticeye - Freeform
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-02-14
Updated: 2016-06-28
Packaged: 2018-05-20 08:31:04
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 5
Words: 5,538
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5999008
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/psychoticturtle/pseuds/psychoticturtle
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>A prank, poor planning, an accident, green and blue dye, an awkward situation, an unexpected friendship, a phone number... and yes, you guessed it, a several-gallon bucket filled to the brim with bright, neon green paint.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Perfect Timing

          Mark stood at the edge of the roof, balancing the huge bucket of paint on the edge of the side railing, overlooking the street and sidewalk below. _Any minute now..._ He could see his friends Bob and Wade walking down the sidewalk, getting closer, closer... Mark knew that he had to time it perfectly, just in time so that all of the paint would actually fall onto Wade and not Bob. Bob would be pissed at Mark if that happened. Mark watched, ready, as the two on the sidewalk got closer. _Almost..._

  
          "Sure is great weather!" Bob yelled, almost too obviously. Mark tipped the bucket instantly, watching the bright green paint rush down towards Wade. He had to cover his mouth with his hand to keep himself from bursting out in laughter. He thought the timing was just _perfect_.

~

          Unfortunately... he was wrong. Just as the bucket above them started to tip, Bob backed out of the way to avoid getting soaked by the downfall. Wade turned around to follow him down the sidewalk, him too walking out of the line of fire, leaving the paint falling to a target of empty cement. But that, also, didn't go as planned. Mark and Bob hadn't planned their spot perfectly... it was directly in front of the shop's front doors. And, as if on cue, a man in a bright blue hoodie stepped outside, greeted with a several-gallon-worth of green paint.

  
          Bob watched unable to stop the paint from covering the man from head to toe. Wade spun around, and realized at last what was going on. He turned to Bob, who was still watching the now-paint-covered man in front of them.

  
          "That was... for me, wasn't it?" he pointed a finger towards the man at the shop front, who was looking down at himself and letting out a string of curse words at the green slime that covered him.

  
          "Yep," Bob couldn't help but to giggle, even though he felt bad for the unsuspecting man. He didn't know if he should go help the man, or just walk away.

~

          On the roof, Mark watched as the shop door opened beneath him, a tall man in a blue hoodie stepping out. _He has no idea,_ he thought. _If he-_ Mark's thoughts were cut off by a splash from below. The green paint covered the man, and Mark takes off in the direction of the stairs. Skipping two stairs at a time, he bolts down to help the fellow.

          _Damn it, Wade,_ he thought. The bell on the top of the door rang as he pushed it open, instantly stepping in a puddle of green goo. The man in front of him was letting out word after word of curses under his breath as he looked down at his soaked clothes.

  
          And even though he didn't know who it was underneath the green mess he had wrought, Mark still couldn't help but laugh.  
          "H-hey, you okay man?" Mark asked between small giggles. As the smaller man turned around to him, he saw him wiping his face off with a clean section of his jacket sleeve.  
          " 'M fine," Mark was caught off guard at the man's strong accent. _Scottish, maybe?_ "But what th' hell was that fer?" the man asked, now smiling at Mark. _Nope, definitely an_ Irish _accent_ , Mark thought.

  
          "Sorry buddy, that wasn't for you. I was meaning to hit my friend Wade, over there," he pointed. Wade waved from where he was standing a few feet away. The man laughed.

  
          "Sorry, Wade, I th'nk I stole yer paint!" The man giggled. Mark could see Wade and Bob burst out into laughter, Mark soon joining them. "I don't think I caught yer name," the man looked back at Mark, wiping some of the paint off of the front of his shirt.

  
          "Er, uh, my name is Mark" When the men's eyes met, Mark felt a sudden rush of nervousness in the pit of his stomach. _What was that all about?_ he thought.

  
          "Well, Mark, it's nice ta meet ya. M' name's Sean, but most people call m' Jack." The Irishman smiled even bigger than before. Does this guy ever stop smiling? Mark thought. He was glad that Jack wasn't mad at him. "Quite an odd circumstance ta be meetin' someone, isn't it?"

  
          Mark giggled. "Yeah... yeah, it is."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for reading, make sure to give me some feedback in the comments below (whether it's specifics about what I could do better about this story or what you guys want me to read next), and the next chapter should be uploaded within the next week. Thank you! ^w^
> 
>  
> 
> Next chapter: Mark gets flustered around his new-found friend, and doesn't quite know why...


	2. Flustered

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Hearing Jack fall over while he's changing in the bathroom, Mark rushes in to help. He soon regrets his decision, when he sees Jack lying on his side on the floor, topless. Every time Mark sees the shorter man or their hands touch, Mark gets flustered- and he doesn't know why.

          "Akay then, Mark, d'ya happen ta know where th' fock I can clean m'self up?" he laughed.

  
          "Oh, yeah," Mark said, pointing to the shop the two still stood in front of. "My friend runs the shop. He'll let you clean up in the back; there's an employee bathroom there. This way." Mark walked around Jack and held open the shop door, gesturing for him to go inside.

  
          "Ken, he needs to use the bathroom in the back. That okay?" With a nod from Ken, Mark pointed Jack in the direction of the "Employee Restroom" sign. He watched as the Irishman closed the door after him, leaving a trail of green footprints stretching from the front door to the bathroom entrance. Mark laughed to himself. _What a doof. I'm glad he's not mad at me. Hey, maybe we can be friends. Wade, Bob and I can maybe invite him over to play some video games. Does he like video games? Probably. Who doesn't?_

          Marks thoughts were cut off by a weird noise coming from the restroom Jack was in. He knocked on the door. "You okay in there, Jack?" 

          The only response Mark got was something that sounded like a muffled "Oomph.." Mark wondered if Jack was hurt, or maybe he fell. Without thinking twice, he twisted the door handle and stepped into the room.

          "The fock... Mark? What th' hell are ye doing?" Closing the door behind him, Mark was greeted with the sight of a half- naked Jack sprawled out on his side on the floor. His face turned hot and he looked away for a second, embarrassed. He looked back down at the shirtless man.

          "I-I, uhh, figured you fell, and, um, thought you might need help... S-sorry, I-" Before Mark could finish stuttering, Jack cut him off.

          "Whatever, ya doof. Since yer in here anyway, why don't ya help me up?" Mark could feel his face reddening even more as he held out his hand. Jack grunted as he pulled himself off the paint-splattered floor with Mark's help.

          "I-I'll go, now..." Mark said, turning to the door, embarrassed out of his mind at the mistake he'd just made in front of this man that he'd just met.

          "Mark, why are ya so flustered? 'M sorry if I made yeh uncomfortable. People tell meh th't I can be a bit in-yer-face sometimes, yeh know?"

          "N-no, Jack, it's fine," Mark spun back around to face Jack, trying to avoid looking at his bare chest, "I just figured you'd be weirded out by me stumbling in on you like that." He scratched the back of his neck with his hand nervously. _Why am I acting so_ _weird_?

          "Y-yeh... I mean, no, no, it's fine. Yeh didn't do anything wrong. Thanks fer helpin' me out, by the way." Mark watched as Jack picked his paint-soaked shirt off of the wet ground and looked at it with obvious disgust before putting it across the bathroom sink.

  
          _Why hadn't I thought of this before?_ Mark thought to himself, pulling his sleeves down. "Hey, u-uh, Jack. Do you want my jacket?" When Jack spun around to look back at Mark, he found himself more ruffled than he was before. He ran his fingers through his blue hair as he stuttered, trying to make himself more clear. "I-I mean, so you don't have to wear that soaked shirt home... But if you don't, you know, that's fine too-"

          "Sure, Mark; yer really kind fer a stranger I just met, by the way. Thanks fer helpin' me."

          "What? Oh, yeah, yeah you're welcome Jack." _Why am I acting so weird? It's almost like I'm standing next to someone famous and I don't want to mess up on camera- but theirs no cameras and I've never seen this guy before in my life._ Mark shook his head after he got his jacket off and handed it to Jack. _I just don't get it. Why am I so flustered?_

          Focusing his attention back on Jack, he tried not to stare as the shorter man as he zipped up the front of the jacket, fitting into it perfectly. _What do I do now?_ As if reading Mark's mind, Jack broke the silence between them with a sigh, turning around to grab his green dripping shirt from where he had put it across the sink a moment before.

          "Alright then, out ya get." Jack shooed Mark towards the door with his hand. "Come on, I don't have all day. Well, I mean, I do, but that's besides the point. Hurry up ye fockin' snail, I'm startin' ta get claustrophobic!"

          After finally making their way back outside where the sidewalk was painted green, Jack turned back towards Mark. "Well it was nice of yeh ta lend me the jacket, Mark. Thank yeh." Mark held his hand for Jack to shake.

          "It was nice to meet you, Jack," Mark said with a smile, his arm extended.

          "Too formal," said Jack, giving Mark a high five instead. Both men laughed. Jack started to turn to leave, when he spun back towards Mark, looking like he'd just remembered something at the last minute. "Ah, almost forgot!" After searching his pockets, Jack pulled out a black sharpie from his back pocket. "Gimme yer hand," Jack stated, uncapping the marker and holding the top with his teeth.

          "What?"

          "Yer hand. The dangly thing at the end of yer arm with fingers at the end of it. Let me see it." Jack held out his fingers, and Mark gave him his hand. He felt goosebumps rise on his arm as Jack grabbed his hand, writing something with the sharpie. Maybe there was a breeze or a chill.

          "What are you doing?" Mark asked, tilting his head in attempt to try and see what it was Jack was writing on his hand.

          "Well," Jack started, recapping the sharpie, "yeh want yer jacket back, right? Let me know when yeh can meet up and I'll bring to ya. That work?" Mark looked down at his hand. On it scrawled a hastily-written ten digit number that extended from the base of his pinky finger to the top of his wrist.

          "Y-yeah, yeah no problem. Thanks, Jack"

          "Yep. Thanks fer lending me the jacket. Th' wet shirt prolly would've gotten a slight bit chilly the way home." Jack smiled, waving. "See yeh then, Mark!"

          "Bye, Jack," Mark said before the Irishman was too far down the street. He sighed and looked down at his hand again to where the marks of sharpie were. _So now the question is, how soon do I call Jack?_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Chapter two complete! Hopefully you guys like it (: I don't think it's as good as the first chapter, but boy does it set it up for a good third chapter! Thank you guys for reading, hope you enjoyed it, and the next chapter should be up by this Saturday. Let me know in the comments below what else you want me to write (I'm definitely open ton ideas) and thanks again for reading!! ^w^


	3. Phone Call

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Bob and Wade leave LA, heading back to their own homes. Mark is finally left alone to call Jack... but he has to work up the courage to actually dial the number. After several takes of Mark hanging up the phone before the other man can answer, he finally lets the phone ring. Mark is still flustered, without knowledge of WHY he acts strange around Jack, even when they're not in the same room.

          "Oh god no.. AW HELL NO!" Mark yelled at his friends, looking down at the jelly beans still sitting on the table.

          "Black licorice or skunk spray," Wade giggled after spinning the Bean Boozled wheel and showing Mark where the arrow was pointing.

          "Goddamn it, Wade..." Mark mumbled, popping a black jelly bean into his mouth in unison with Bob and Wade.

          "Mmmm... black licorice," Bob said, chewing his jelly bean happily and sitting back in his chair, awaiting his friends' reactions.

          "Mines... good, I think? I can't tell, actually," Wade made a face that looked undecidedly half-discusted. Both turned to Mark, smiling. Mark still held his bean on the tip of his tongue, dreading the taste it would make when he finally bit down on it. He squeezed his eyes shut, preemptively making a face that would scare a goblin.

          "OH GOOD _GOD_ NO!" Mark stuck up both middle fingers, trying to get the jelly bean down so he could stop tasting it. Bob and Wade were cracking up like fireworks on either side of the table as Mark shuttered at the taste in his mouth. Bob and Wade laughed even more when they heard Mark let out a belt of swears under his breath as he squirmed in his chair. "Oh god... blegh! That was," Mark stopped to shudder again in his chair. "...terrible. I'm out, guys. 15 is enough for me."

          "Yeah, same here."  Bob said, sitting back in his chair.

          "Shut up Bob, you got all the good ones!" The three men burst into laughter once more. Once everything calmed down, Wade proposed they could go walk down to the shop down the street and go get some stuff to make dinner.

          "Yeah, that'll be good. But for the love of all things holy, no more fucking jelly beans!" Mark wiped his tongue across the palm of his hand, trying to wipe the remaining taste of skunk out of his mouth. "MATT! RYAN! GET YOUR ASSES DOWN HERE!" Mark yelled across the house, calling his housemates over to the door. A moment later, the two men appeared near the door.

          "What's up, Mark?" Matt was the first to talk.

          "What do you need now?" Ryan sulked, pretending to be annoyed.

          "We're going to the store," Bob told them, "wanna come with?"

          "Ooh, can we get candy while we're there??" Matt asked, already throwing on his Heelys. "We're running low on gummi bears."

          "You're such a child, Matt," Mark laughed. "And didn't you get like a _five-pound bag_ just the other day?" Matt pointed his thumb over towards Ryan, who shrugged guiltily. Mark giggled, rolling his eyes. "Mkay, but _you're buying them_ this time."

          "Pshh, thanks, _dad_ ," Matt said, making all of them laugh. Heading out the door, Mark brushed his hand on the coat hook, reaching for his jacket. When his hand touched nothing but cold metal, he was temporarily confused. He turned around, scanning the room to find it. Only when he had looked on the couch in the living room did he finally remembered- he'd given it to that man that he'd dumped all of the paint onto. He looked down at his hand, where Jack had written his phone number. He had almost forgotten it was there- and it was smudged from when he had licked his hand a minute previous.

          Mark sighed to himself. _When am I supposed to call him?_ Mark got so nervous talking to the man- how was he supposed to just pick up the phone and _call_ him? "I can deal with not having a jacket for tonight," Mark mumbled to himself. "I-I'll call Jack tomorrow, then, I guess."

          _Yeah..._ Mark thought. _Tomorrow..._

~

          Mark woke up the next day to the smell of pancakes downstairs. Bob and Wade had left earlier that morning to go back to their own homes, leaving Mark, Matt and Ryan in the house by themselves again. Leaving on just his pajama pants, Mark lumbered down the stairs sleepily to find Matt in the kitchen, the source of the pancake smell.

          "Hey, Mark, you're finally up," Matt said, setting the pan back down on the burner. There's some pancakes on the table if you want some."

          " _Pshh_ , thanks _Mom_ ," Mark smiled, picking up a pancake and taking a bite. There were blueberries in the center. "Anyway," Mark continued with his mouth full, where's Ryan? His door was open but he wasn't in there."

          "He passed out on the couch last night. He was watching some movie, and when I came to tell him to turn it down, he was asleep on the couch drooling into an empty popcorn bucket. He's prolly still on the sofa." Matt tossed the pancake into the air, flipping it twice.

          "Hey, you're getting good at that."

          "I know," Matt said with a giggle in his voice. Mark walked off to the living room, finishing what was left of the pancake in his hand. He found Ryan sprawled over the couch, his hat over the back and his shorts halfway down his hip on one side, revealing his purple boxers.

          "Hey," Mark prodded Ryan's side, earning a sleepy moan from the man. " _Hey_ ," Mark said again, getting louder and poking him twice as hard. Ryan threw an arm over his eyes. Mark giggled, a thought coming to his mind. Leaving Ryan to fall back asleep on the couch, he walked back to the hallway to get the Buzz! game from the closet next to his room. He found it as soon as he opened the door, sitting on top of the other games they had sloppily stuffed into the closet. On the top shelf sat what was left of their Bean Boozled game he, Bob and Wade had played the night before. Mark grinned at the sight.

          Grabbing the buzzer game, he started to close the closet door when something caught his eye. When he opened the door back up to investigate, he found the sticky note he had stuck there the night before, after they had gotten back from the shop with Matt's ten pound bag of gummi bears. On it showed a ten-digit phone number with his writing under it in all caps: **CALL JACK TOMORROW!**

    _Tomorrow..._ Mark remembered his phone being charged over night- no excuse there. He put the buzzer game back, deciding to use it on Ryan another time. For now, he had to figure out how the _hell_ he was going to work up the courage to dial that number on his phone. Mark snatched the pink sticky note off the inside of the door, closing it behind him and walking to his room.

        _How am I supposed to do this? Just call him up and say 'hey, I need my jacket back'? That's stupid. I'll sound like a moron. And then there's the fact that I have no idea where to meet him at..._

~

          Two hours later, Ryan and Matt were out of the house for the day, leaving Mark alone to figure out how to call Jack. The phone rang in Mark's hand as he paced back and forth across the floor of his bedroom. _Why am I so nervous? I feel like my heart is gonna hammer its way out of my chest..._

          "Hello?" Mark recognized that accent anywhere.

          "Hey, Jack?" Mark was starting to wish he hadn't called.

          "Mark?"

          "Yep." That wish was diminished.

          "Oh, hey! Long time no see, eh?" Mark laughed into the phone.

          "Yeah, definitely. You get that paint out of your hair yet?"

          "I can't tell wot's paint and wot's hair dye, fer fock sake!" Jack laughed loudly on the other side of the line. "I managed ta get it off everywhere else, though. Well, except my fockin' _ears_. They'll be bleeding that greeen goo fer the rest of mah days." Mark laughed at that - he was glad he called now. He was nervous, but Jack seemed so carefree, so gentle. Why would he be nervous?

          "Anyway, I was m-maybe, uh, wondering when I um, could-"

          "Oh yeh, th' jacket. Ye want 't back, right?" Jack burst in halfway through Mark's stuttering.

          "Y-yeah. When do you, ya know, wanna meet up?"

          "Maybe later today? Would th't work?"

          "Yeah, sure, o-of course!" Mark smiled into the phone. "Where do you want to see me then?"

          There was a pause, and Mark wiped his sweaty palm on his pant leg. _Don't fuck up, don't fuck up, don't fuck up..._ "Does the shop we met at work fer yeh?" Jack asked over the phone. He was talking about where their 'prank' had gone wrong- especially on Jack's end. Mark giggled to himself, remembering what had happened a couple days ago.

          "Yeah," he responded to Jack, "yeah, that'll work."

          "Good, I'll be th're at around five-ish. And no more fockin' buckets of paint, fer fock sake!" The two men laughed at that.

          "Oh damn it, there goes my plan," Mark joked. The men laughed again, until Jack broke through the giggles.

          "Alrighty, Markimoo, I've gotta go. I'll see ye at five."  Mark smiled, blushing.   _Markimoo?_

          "O-okay Jack, see ya."

          "Bye!" The phone clicked as the call ended. Mark held the phone in his hand, tossing it up and down in the air. _At least I didn't fuck it up,_ he thought to himself. _And I'm seeing Jack later today!_ He looked down at his pajama pants and still-bare chest. _Today..._ Mark looked at his clock sitting on the table next to his bed. '1:42pm', it read in blue numbers and letters. _At five tonight. At_ five _..._ _in just over fucking three hours?! Shit, I have to get ready!_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> YAYYY he finally called Jack!!! And their meeting later that day should go well... as long as there's no more paint involved. Also, this is a longer chapter, because I had to set up some scenarios that would lead to him finally making that call... but anyways, thank you guys for reading, hope you enjoyed it and give me some feedback in the comments below! I would love to hear what you guys think of the story so far. ^w^


	4. Black Squirrel

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Mark gets ready to meet Jack at the shop, and has some extra time. Realizing he never had lunch, he decides to go to the Chinese restaurant down the street from the shop where he was to meet with Jack. On the way there, Mark gets distracted by a little black fluffball of a squirrel bouncing through the branches of a tree near the pavement where he was walking. What happens next, Mark finds, was unexpected; and a bit embarrassing.

          Mark checked the clock on the wall as he stepped out of the shower- it read 4:03. _Five o'clock_ ,he thought to himself. He figured it would take him about twenty minutes for him to walk to the shop to meet Jack, so he planned to leave the house at around 4:45-ish. He didn't want Jack to have to wait for him.

          _That means I've got forty-two minutes left before I go..._ he thought, pulling his shirt over his head on his way out the bathroom door. Matt and Ryan wouldn't be home until late that night- they had told Mark that they were going out with their other friends for the day. Mark literally had _nothing_ to do for the forty-some minutes before he left.

          _Maybe I can go out and pick up some dinner_ , Mark thought. It wasn't exactly dinner time yet, but he hadn't exactly had any lunch, either. He'd been too busy stressing over calling Jack to actually eat anything... _That's a problem. The only thing I've eaten all day is a pancake and a few of Matt's gummi bears. Yeah, I can prolly go out to get something to eat._ He just had to make sure it was somewhere semi-close to the shop, and somewhere that didn't have the world's slowest chefs. _Chinese take-out it is, then,_ Mark thought. He threw on his shoes and headed for the door, his hair still wet. He made a half-motion with his arm to grab his jacket, then stopped himself. Why did he keep forgetting?

          Mark headed out the front door, starting towards the restaurant. It was fast, close, and he could take it with him if he ran short on time. _Perfect_ , he thought. He passed the shop after eighteen minutes of half walking and half messing around on the sidewalk with his Heely's. It only took him about three additional minutes to start to see the restaurant just down the road.

          Mark looked up and down the street, running to cross the road after a white Prius drove by him in a hurry. When he got to the other side of the street, he noticed a tiny black squirrel that was hopping from branch to branch in a small tree beside the sidewalk. He kept walking forward, distracted by the little creature moving through the trees. He walked slowly as he started to pass the tree so close to the sidewalk- still the squirrel took no notice of him.

          Suddenly, Mark was falling backwards onto the cement beneath him after he had bumped into someone. He landed with a _thump_ , only to be rewarded with someone else landing on top of him.

          After he got his breath back from the fall, Mark started to talk. "Oh my god I'm so sorry I was being stupid and there was a squirrel and-" Mark trailed off as the person who he had bumped into lifted their head at last off of Mark's chest.

          "Oh my _god_ , Mark. You and yer odd ways of meetin' people." The man said, lifting his chest off of Mark's.

          "Oh, h-hi, Jack. I was-"

          "Yeh yeh. You were lookin' at the squirrel. It's not your fault, I was lookin' at the black fluffball too," Jack smiled down at Mark, his green hair falling into his face. It wasn't until that moment that Mark fully understood what he was doing. When the realization came over him, he felt his cheeks blush red, spreading all the way to the tips of his ears.

          "Jack, uhm... could, could you..." Mark was stuttering even more now, and he knew Jack could obviously see his red face.

          Mark watched as the realization came over Jack as well, having close to the same impact on Jack as it had on Mark. "O-oh, oops, sorry... mah bad..." Mark heard Jack's accent slowly get stronger as the embarrassment creeped into his voice. Jack sat up, trying to lift himself off of the sidewalk without crushing Mark any more than he already had. Mark could see Jack's face growing more and more red as he attempted to get up.

          Jack sat up, earning a grunt from Mark. "Ouch...."

          "What? O-oh, I-I'm sorry..."

          "It's okay.." Mark muttered, reaching his hands towards his groin, where Jack had squashed a minute before. Looking up at the now-standing Jack, Mark saw him attempting his best at a straight face, trying not to laugh at the sight below him. "Well," Mark grunted, lifting one of his hands up towards Jack, "help me up!"

          Jack giggled quietly, grabbing Mark's hand and hoisting the man up from the cement. Once he was standing in front of Jack, he noticed the purple jacket that Jack was wearing over a green t-shirt that read "Booper Dooper." He smiled, recognizing the jacket Jack was wearing. Mark looked over his shoulder to where he'd seen the squirrel- it was still there, scampering its way around the tree. "Goddamn squirrel," Mark heard Jack mumble under his breath.

          "I'd say it's good luck," he whispered to himself, smiling at the 'black fluffball.'

          "Wot was that, Mark?"

          Mark turned back towards Jack, his embarrassment coming back. "I- uh, I... nothing." Mark retorted. _Smooth, Mark..._ he thought, internally cringing at his own mistake. He looked up at Jack, who hadn't said anything, just giggled.

          "Oh, right..." Jack said, sliding off the jacket. Jack was embarrassed he had been caught wearing Mark's jacket- _again_. "I... didn't expect ta run inta ye before the shop. I was just headed there ta wait for ya..." Jack trailed off, dropping his head and trying to hide his cherry-red face. Mark took the jacket gently from Jack and slid it onto his own arms, hiding the goosebumps that still covered his arms where Jack had fell onto them.

          Mark tried his best to keep his cool. "It's cool, J-Jack," he said, smiling at the embarrassed Jack that was still blushing hard in front of him. "I didn't expect to bump into you so soon. I was headed to go get some dinner."

          Jack's head shot up, his face still red as a strawberry. "Can maybe I go with?" he asked, bubbling with energy, as usual. His embarrassment washed back over him, making him look back at his feet. Mark giggled at how silly he was being.

          "Sure, of course you can come, Jackaboy," he smiled at Jack, whose eyes shown with energetic excitement.

          "Thanks! Already ta the nickname are we?" Jack smiled at Mark, who was starting to blush again.  "Anyhoo, where we goin'?"

          "I was thinking the Chinese place just down the street. What do you think?"

          "I think it sounds fockin' great! Let's go!" Jack instantly turned around and pulled Mark by the wrist of his jacket to walk beside him. _He makes friends really fast,_ Mark said, looking over at Jack. The smaller man smiled giddily beside him as they walked down the sidewalk. _That one single prank was one of the best decisions I've ever made... especially once it didn't go exactly to plan._ Mark smiled, the two approaching the doors of the restaurant. _All because of that green paint..._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Awwwe, IT'S ADORABLE, YOU HAVE TO ADMIT IT. Anyway, someone suggested that I tone down the accent in Jack's voice (I was having too much fun with it, oops), so hopefully this sounds better. Also, DON'T WORRY, IT DOESN'T END THERE. (None of you probably though that, but it sounded like a closing so...) But thank you guys for reading, and I hope you enjoyed it!! Let me know in the comments below what you think, and if there's anything else (stories, different characters, specific plots, ideas, anything ^w^) let me know! Thanks again for reading, and the next chapter will be up in the next week or so! ^w^


	5. Shadow of the Colossus

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> More cuteness and awkward Mark incoming! I'm sorry this took so long to be put up... hopefully a new chapter can help make up for the wait! (I'll shut up now so that you can read the chapter now..) Enjoy!! ^w^

          Mark followed clumsily through the door as Jack pulled him along by his sleeve.  " _Foockin' hell_..." he heard the Irishman whisper under his breath.  In front of them was a line stretching from the register all the way to where they stood against the front door of the restaurant.  "Ye sure ye wanna eat here, Mark?"  Jack turned toward Mark, who was practically pinned to the wall in the crowded restaurant.

          "You can get something else that's faster, and we can meet back up afterwards.  I-if you'd like to, of course... I mean-"

          To Mark's relief, Jack cut him off before he could stutter any more.  "Nah, 'm good with standin' around fer a while.  I jus' didn't know if ye would want ta wait fer so long."  With these words, Jack planted himself at Mark's side.

          By the time the two had finally gotten their food, there was only one table left, tucked away in the corner farthest away from the front doors of the restaurant.  Spotting the table first, Jack pointed in its direction.

          "D'ya just wanna eat here?  There's a table open."  Jack almost had to yell over the noise of the bustling crowd and the busy kitchen.

          "Yeah, sure.  You're not in a hurry to go somewhere after this or anything, are you?"  Mark asked as they both set their to-go bags on either sides of the table.   _I hope he doesn't have anything going on... it would be awesome to spend the day hanging out with him,_  Mark thought to himself.

          "Nope, 'm free all day, 's far as I know."  jack said, an exaggerated smile covering his face.  "Unless 'f course ye count playin' video games as 'busy.'"  He added with a small giggle.

          Jack's giggle brought a smile to the older man's face.  So he  _did_ like video games; Mark had been wondering if the shorter man shared his interest in video games.  "Speaking of video games," th mention of the word caused Jack to slurp his last noodle and snap his attention up to Mark.  "What's your favorite game?  Or... two, for that matter," Mark laughed, "I know  _I_ can't choose just one."

          "Oh, Shadow of the Colossus fer sure beats th'm all in my mind.  I mean, there's a few others that 've made my top ten, but the big colossi," Jack made a monster motion with his arms as he spoke about the giant creatures.  "Just how they tower over the tiny character in comparison..." Mark listened on intently as Jack fanboyed over the game, explaining its graphics and funky physics it could have at times.

           Mark took little bites of his food in between nods and short giggles as Jack talked on and on.  The entire time he spoke, Mark couldn't help himself from smiling like an idiot.  He absolutely  _loved_ hearing Jack talk about the things that he liked, talking about even the smallest of details.

          It didn't take Mark long to start dazing off - not from boredom, but from the lull of Jack's excited voice talking on and on about his favorite game.  His smile still on his face, Mark slowly lost himself in Jack's icy blue eyes.  He was so excited to be talking about something he was passionate about, to share his love of video games with another person.  Jack's excitement and happiness shone brightly through his eyes.  He was so nice, and funny, and friendly...

          "-right Mark?" he instantly snapped out of his trance, feeling his cheeks turn a bright cherry red as he realized he hadn't been paying attention to the last ten minutes of the conversation.  At the sight of the increasingly red-faced Mark, Jack let out a giggle.  "Are ye tired or somethin'?  I lost ye fer a few minutes there."  Jack's smile faded slightly as he realized another possibility.  "I was bein' boring again, wasn't I?  I w's just goin' on again about somethin', not letting ye talk..."

          Now it was Mark's turn to stop Jack from stuttering.  "No, you weren't boring.  I really like hearing people talk about what they love.  I was... just..."   _Would the truth make this awkward...?_

          "Ye were what?"  Jack asked.  At the obvious curiosity on Jack's face, he made his decision.

          "I was... distracted.  Your eyes are a really beautiful blue, did you know that?"  Mark could feel his face maintain its cherry red color as he spoke.  He realized quickly that Jack was now the one at a loss of words.  He was obviously flustered at Mark's answer, but he couldn't tell whether he was uncomfortable or not.

          Before Mark could start backtracking on his words, Jack was back to himself, cheerier and bouncy as ever.  "Thanks, Markimoo!  I'd say th' same fer yer eyes too, but yer foockin' glasses are always in the way."  Jack giggled, leaning over the table to snatch Mark's glasses off of his face.  "There ya go," he said, pushing Mark's hair back out of his face.  "If yer foockin' hair would move." 

        Mark looked down at his hands, embarrassed again.  He didn't know what to do or say, so he stayed silent for longer than he usually did.

          " _Now_ I can say it," Jack laughed, causing Mark to look up, his hair falling back over some of his face.  "Ye have nice eyes too, Markimoo,"  _Markimoo.  Heh, nice..._ Mark laughed to himself at the thought.

          "So," Mark started, "about that second colossus..."


End file.
